Spider Flower

(Cleome spinosa)

 

Color Photograph: Copyright Nearctica.com, Inc.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Spider Flower (Cleome spinosa)

Alien: Native of tropical America.

Identification: Flowers white, pink, or lavender. Flower with 4 petals on long, narrow stalks. Stamens extremely long. Stem sticky and downy. Leaf consisting of a number of bladelike leaflets arranged in a rosette. Plant 2 to 4 feet in height.

Distribution: Found as a garden escape throughout North America.

Habitat: Spider Flower is widely planted as a garden flower and readily escapes to roadsides and the shores of lakes and rivers.

Flowering period: July to September.

Spider Flower (Cleome spinosa)

Similar Species:

The flowers and leaves of Spider Flower are highly distinctive.

Similar Species

No Similar Species